发布时间 : 星期一 文章新编实用英语综合教程2--Unit-2-Communication-by-Email教案更新完毕开始阅读24aff3e6abea998fcc22bcd126fff705cd175c66
n. something good that you have or that happens and improves your life, helps you in some way, or makes you happy 祝福，赐福 e.g.
The dishwasher has been a real blessing! Has her IQ been a burden as much as a blessing? 2. plain
a. (informal) used to emphasize an adjective, usually one referring to a bad quality 完全（的）地，全然（的）地 e.g.
It’s just plain crazy to spend all your pay as soon as you get it. It was just plain stupid to give him your address 3. chit-chat
n. conversation about things that are not very important 闲谈，聊天 e.g.
Let’s take Elizabeth and her chit-chat club as an example. Got time? Can we have a little chit-chat? 4. schedule
v. to plan that something will happen at a particular time 安排时间 e.g.
Or if you miss exercising regularly, schedule a once-a-week power walk. Her first album is scheduled for release in September. 5. design
v. to plan or develop something for a specific purpose 设计 e.g.
These exercises are designed to strengthen muscles.
The book is designed as a reference manual. 6. feature
n. a part of something that you notice because it seems important, interesting, or typical 特点，特写 e.g.
Air bags are a standard feature in most new cars.
An important feature of Van Gogh’s paintings is their bright colors. 7. combat
v. to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse, used especially in news reports 反对，斗争 e.g.
To combat inflation, the government raised interest rates. China has completed its preparations to combat bird flu. 8. notify
v. to formally or officially tell someone about something 通知 e.g.
You will be notified of any changes in the system.
In August we were notified that our article had been rejected. notification: n. informing by words 通知 e.g.
You should receive notification of the results within a week. We received official notification that Harry was missing. 9. assure
v. to tell someone that something will definitely happen or is definitely true so that they are less worried 保证，确保 e.g.
Her doctor has assured us that she’ll be fine. I assure you that would never happen again. 10. cue
n .an action or event that is a signal for something else to happen
暗示，信号 e.g.
Our success was the cue for other companies to press ahead with new investment.
I think that’s my cue to explain why I’m here. Passage 2 :
Information Related to the Reading Passage
The protection of e-mail from unauthorized access and inspection is known as electronic privacy. In countries with a constitutional guarantee of the secrecy of correspondence, e-mail is equated with letters and thus legally protected from all forms of eavesdropping.
In the United States, privacy of correspondence is derived from the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and thus restricted by the requirement for a “reasonable expectation of privacy”.
In the member states of the Council of Europe, the privacy of correspondence is guaranteed explicitly by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. No public authority can interfere with the exercise of this right except “as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society”. Text Privacy, Are You Kidding?
Stop right where you are and set aside a couple of brain cells for the following statement: there is no such thing as private e-mail. I don’t care what anybody says, states, swears or whatever; there is just no such thing as private e-mail. The reason? Keep reading.
With some e-mail systems, the e-mail administrator has the ability to read any and all e-mail messages. If this is the case where you are located, you’d better hope that there is an honest and respectable person in that position.
Some companies monitor employee e-mail (I consider this one of the worst forms of censorship). The reasons for this unpleasant behavior are that company
management wants to make sure that users are not wasting time on little-things-in-life messages and that company secrets are not being leaked to outside sources.
E-mail software is like all software in that occasionally things go wrong. If this happens, you may end up receiving e-mail that is meant for another person, or your e-mail may get sent to the wrong person. Either way, what you thought was private is not private anymore.
Somewhere in the world there is a person (usually a hacker) who is able to read your e-mail if he / she tries hard enough. Of course “tries hard enough” is the key. It’s not that simple to read another person’s e-mail (usually). There are (usually) security measures in place to prevent this from happening, but no security is one hundred percent hacker-proof. I have “usually” in parenthesis in the previous two sentences because I’m assuming that the person / persons who install and operate your e-mail system have taken the necessary precautions. Of course, the same must also be true for the person / persons on the receiving end of your e-mail.
So where does this leave us? First, let me re-emphasize the initial statement: there is no such thing as private e-mail. Got it? Second, don’t send anything by e-mail that you would not want posted on the company bulletin board. If it’s safe enough for the bulletin board, it’s safe enough for e-mail. Finally, if you are debating whether or not to send something personal by e-mail, either deliver it by hand or send it by post. Attachment: E-mail Abbreviations
Abbreviations are quite frequently used in e-mail. Some of the common abbreviations are listed in the table below. I would recommend that you use abbreviations that are already common to the English language, such as “FYI and BTW”. Beyond that, you run the risk of confusing your receiver. Language Points
1 Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1. (Para. 1) Stop right where you are and set aside a couple of brain cells for the following statement: there is no such thing as a private e-mail.